Scottish Deerhound Wins "Best in Show"; Handler Says "She Had It All"

Out of 2,500 competitors in Tuesday night’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, a 5-year-old Scottish Deerhound was named “Best in Show” for the first time ever! Handler Angela Lloyd,appeared on the Early Show, — with the Westminster show host David Frei — to talk about her big win with her “country girl” Hickory!

Lloyd explained on the Early Show that she was “amazingly not” nervous on the night of the competition. Hickory,

“She went in the ring last night,” Lloyd explained. “That was the best she had ever shown for me in the whole two-and-a-half years that I’ve shown her, and she owned it.”

And now she needs to own her new celebrity status while making the media rounds in NYC.

“She goes from here to a couple of other stops. Eventually we get to the observation deck at the Empire State Building, where all the great champions go,” Frei said. “From there, to Sardi’s (restaurant), where they serve her sliced steak on a silver platter. And eventually, we’re going to end up at the Ronald McDonald house and visit some pediatric oncology patients.”

“Any time you come down to the final lineup, you’ve got seven great dogs, so to win it, and she did this, you have to own the ground you stand over,” she explained. “Whether you call it charisma or personality or showmanship, she had it all.”

And Frei had been watching Hickory for awhile.

“Well, I raised Afghan hounds, so I have a good eye for sight hounds, as she is,” he said. “I knew she was a great dog when I saw her a couple of years ago when she was first starting out. Under Angela’s wonderful hand, she’s done great things. Won 14 best in shows, now 15. Ready to retire.”

At 85 pounds, Lloyd says Hickory is “a country girl. She likes to go home and run on the farm.”